You'd Never Guess This Home Was Designed in Just One Month

Check out that outdoor space, though.

By
Nikhita Mahtani

Jun 5, 2019

Sean Lichtfield for Homepolish

Most of the time, large spaces fall prey to what designers commonly refer to as too much “stuff.” Think too many colors, textures, accessories—all designed to fill up a space that (to be completely honest) probably doesn’t need that much filling up to begin with. Thankfully, Homepolish designers Kroesser + Strat knew better than to succumb to this strategy when designing the 6,350-square-foot NoHo apartment of a noted NYC nutritionist, who wanted a home that she could both socialize in and work out of. The challenge, then? Getting everything done in a month. No, really—we’re not kidding.

“The turnaround time was tricky, but luckily, the moment we met our client, we knew our visions for the space were in sync,” insist the designers, Anna Kroesser and Amelia Strat. “At the initial design consultation, she responded to our dream aesthetic: interesting pieces of furniture and lighting, lots of layering with pillows, throws and sheepskins to introduce a boho feel, and plants galore.” The ultimate goal was to create a playful, yet functional space that would provide an elevated feel...even though most of the pieces were actually from catalog companies, since they would be able to deliver in the short time frame the home required.

One of the stars is the royal blue sectional from Restoration Hardware in the theater room, which boasts a moody hue that’s fairly different from the rest of the home. As this area was only a small snippet of the home, the designers knew that they were able to take more risks—and because of the open floor plan, having different color schemes for each room was key to dividing the areas from each other. “We typically love to create a moody, sexy vibe in smaller spaces,” they explain. “When you pick a color palette and layer in tones of that color, you get this really enveloping feeling.” Tons of texture further adds to the cozy vibe.

The floor-to-ceiling windows in the space encouraged the designers to add in lots of plants and bring the outdoors in whenever they could, and they also played with pops of color throughout to create an inviting, yet lighthearted feel—which is necessary, since the couple loves to entertain. A sunny game room allows for a ping pong table, while two separate seating areas make the downstairs area feel cozier.

The main living area has a stunning marble fireplace, and therefore serves as the more formal of the two seating areas. Softer colors take over here, while the adjoining area plays with more fun colors like royal blue and pink. Since the hues are fairly calming, the spaces can be used as workstations as well—ideal for the client, who mainly works from home.

“The ping pong table and these low-to-the-floor chairs made the space feel so playful, and the mirror art, which our client sourced, gave a sophistication to the space so that the area didn’t feel too laid back,” the designers shared.

Sean Litchfield for Homepolish

“Our client and her husband love to entertain, so creating spaces that were conducive to large parties was key,” elaborate Kroesser and Strat. “We already had three dedicated spots for sofas, and the space didn’t really need a fourth, so we divided the living area. The table is the first thing you see when you walk off the elevator, and we felt it was a great intro to their home: It’s saying, ‘Hi, welcome, you’re going to have a great time here!’”

“Because it was such a vast space, we had to be careful to not go wild with throwing in furnishings where they didn’t belong just to fill up the space,” they continue. “But then, on the flip side, we did need to make sure it didn't feel sparse.” A key trick was combining multiple furniture pieces—for instance, since the dining room is such a long space, instead of having one large dining table, two were placed together so that they could be moved around whenever. The woods and creams lend a relaxed, yet polished feel: “We didn’t want the areas to feel stuffy.”

A dreamy firepit and some rattan chairs give the entire outdoors area a cozy, boho vibe—perfect for people to curl up and chat for hours.

Sean Litchfield for Homepolish

However, as colorful as the indoors are, the designers chose to be intentionally more subdued when it came to the terrace—yet another spot to entertain. Offering sweeping views of the city below, this roomy space has all the texture of the interior, but uses black and white to make sure that the attention stays squarely on the dramatic scene. This space also plays with different areas for socializing: “There’s the intimate lounge area perfect for cocktails, the fire pit spot with huge, cocoon-like chairs for late night chats, and a large dining table that’s close by to the grill!” elaborate the designers. “As for the neutral vibe, our client loves flowers, so we knew that these spaces would get filled up with beautiful and colorful arrangements in no time. This would help to provide that extra pop of color.”

All in all, the biggest lesson the designers gleaned from this home is it’s totally possible to create a space without really sticking to any particular theme—playing with color, texture, and furniture pieces can absolutely be done strategically, as long as everything isn’t dumped on top of one another.

“Because there’s no real theme, the home had a more organic feel, as if the pieces had been carefully selected over time and seamlessly came together,” they explain. “There were key elements we played with throughout—comfortable, functional, well layered, playful—and each part of the home has all of those elements. But which piece of furniture went well with the other and which color went well with another truly came together organically, which in turn created an overall cohesiveness.”

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